Full Circle
by CSIGurlie07
Summary: For a brief moment in time, James Watson knew a different Helen Magnus, one marked by time and heartbreak. In the twilight of his final moments, he still thinks of her. Spoilers for "Revelations Pt. 1&2" and "Tempus". Inspired by a deleted scene. One-shot.


_"Helen…"_

The sound escaped James' lips in a thready gasp. Her name always had a way of sliding off his tongue—soft and smooth, but strong. Lasting. Once upon a time, when their youth was true and rosy with naïveté, James had first heard her name. It had been spoken with such derision that he pitied the poor thing who had so whimsically believed she could survive within the domain of the gentleman.

But then James had met her, this Helen, and been proven wrong for the first time in his life. The mind of a scholar hid behind wide blue eyes, as great any man within the hallowed halls of Oxford. The true surprise, however, was the power Helen wielded with gentle words and a soft touch. Every inch a lady, save her unseemly pursuit of knowledge, she was a leader among men. They willing four followed Helen to the edge of the known world and beyond.

The experiment with the Source Blood was the start of their adventure together, bonded as the Five for all eternity. It marked the beginning of a new age—the age of Helen Magnus.

_"James, please,"_ she urged now, those same bright eyes sparkling with tears. One slipped from her lashes, silently dashing upon her cheek. James reached shakily to wipe it away, but paused. His machine was failing quickly; his fingers were already skeletal. He couldn't bear to touch his withered skin to hers.

Helen clasped his hand, bringing it halfway to her chest as though to pull him closer, but fearing to do so would tear him asunder. She hadn't taken such care in decades. Not since his health had started failing, and his simple chest plate grew to support his entire frame. When it required a recharge on a near nightly basis, they'd both accepted the reality of it. It was then that Helen looked to Old City, and began to plan the creation of her brand new Sanctuary. James remained in New York for a few years after, hoping that she would return to him. When she didn't, when her focus remained on the future, it was clear that he was a facet of her past. He withdrew to London, and headed the original Sanctuary, where it all began.

James found his home among the shadows of the past, catching glimpses of a Helen complete with ruffles and bustle, features grim with heartache. They were only memories, but they kept him company as Helen pulled further and further away. By the time she came to him for help re-implanting the embryo she'd preserved over a century ago, he knew that his time in her life had come to an end. He was her eldest friend, but no longer her dearest.

But one day, years later when Helen Magnus travelled all the way from Old City to visit him in London, it was not the bouncing bundle of young Ashley dangling from her hand that caught his attention. It was the dark mane of long brown hair that took his breath away and set his heart to racing. She now possessed the edge he'd once perceived so many years ago, when he'd met a glimpse of the future. Now he saw the constant vigilance that had so intrigued him during the case of Spring-heeled Jack.

Then he knew. In a cruel twist of fate, he had not just fallen for Helen Magnus. He didn't lose himself to the prim, tight-corseted damsel who broke all the rules at Oxford. Nor was he swept away by the woman who blazed trails with her work within the Abnormal world.

No, James Watson had fallen for the woman Helen Magnus would become, and the Helen who held him now was the closest he would ever come. A stranger had come to him in 1898, but the few rain-soaked days he had with her had been enough for James to see the truths she'd refused to voice. He'd seen in her the love they would share, recognized the affectionate smiles softened the hard expression of that purposeful, dark figure. His enhanced skills had blessed him in this, allowed him to see all that and more. James had seen his own fate in her eyes.

In the year 1898 he knew that from whence she came, he did not survive with her. So there was no surprise for James when he stumbled in the bowels of the vampire stronghold, his bones rusty with a life too long extended. He looked deep into her eyes, and past the fear of loneliness, James saw a glimpse of the woman who had cursed with him on the rooftops. Past the frantic, sputtering whir of his life-giving machine, James wondered if his death was what had turned that unfamiliar Helen so grim.

He longed to tell her everything now. She would see him again, and set it all in motion. But even if he had the breath, James knew he couldn't. This Helen wasn't ready. So there he sat collapsed against the pillar, content in her presence. He had yet to see the Helen who had so playfully cursed with him on the rooftops of London, but knew he had a hand in shaping her. Helen would go on to do great things, and so long as she held him close in her heart, his contribution to history would continue.

Helen would be fine. She had Ashley, a girl who was equal parts ferocious and sweet. She was her mother's daughter, and Helen's love for her would ease the pain of his passing. And John… for all his sins, he still adored Helen, and it seemed as though he was once more himself. Even if only for a short time, his gentle presence could help her heal. Helen was strong; she always had been.

Ashley… Dear God. The connection clicked, the pattern springing to his failing mind with nearly painful veracity. The Cabal, they weren't just after the Source Blood. They needed a vessel, and Ashley… She was perfect. He tried to force the words from his crumbling lips, but he couldn't be certain that he succeeded. When Helen's gaze remained locked on his, full of heartbreak rather than fear, he doubted he had. But he gave up the struggle as he was lost in the blue of her gaze.

If there was a heaven, it was there with her. If there was a will of God, it would allow James to stay, even only a moment more. But his vision faded, and he sighed in peace as his machine gave up its struggle.

Perhaps they would meet again, in the great beyond. James silently prayed it would not be for a long time to come; she had a great deal more to accomplish before she was done. The age of Helen Magnus was only just beginning.


End file.
